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   akannan Teacher
   Middle School

   eNotes Editor

   The song in Wordsworth's "The Solitary Reaper" is the portal through which the speaker's thoughts are able to engage in a spirit of wonderment.  The speaker, presumably Wordsworth, lacks the understanding of the song, but understands that the song inspires a great amount of comparisons in his mind.  One such comparison is the idea that the song is reminiscent of travellers in Arabia, or a song sung by the bird which can be heard to the lengths of the farthest islands.  In a more wide ranging sense, the speaker compares the song to a song of "old, unhappy things" and battles that remain in the past, " of long ago."  The song inspires a great many of comparisons within the speaker's mind.

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   Posted by akannan on Tuesday September 15, 2009 at 4:26 PM